


"It's your fault I can't breathe!"

by darktwinkle



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Claustrophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, post - C&B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-18 02:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5894443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darktwinkle/pseuds/darktwinkle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ficlet based on the angst prompts 'It's all your fault!' & 'I can't breathe!' - Originally posted on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"It's your fault I can't breathe!"

“It’s all **your** fault!” Ty grumbled, pacing the length of the room. It was an act that only required four maybe five steps. Their only light source - the torch app on Zane’s phone - was propped up on a stack of books, it highlighted the anger on Ty’s face whenever he passed in front of it. As they’d found out a few moments ago, after listening to it ring with ‘Zane’s theme’, Ty’s phone was still out in the main area of the shop.

“My fault, how is this my fault?”

“You were the one who moved the extinguisher, it was propping the door open”

“By accident! I moved it by accident” Zane defended, backing up into a corner. He really didn’t want to get in the way of Ty’s pacing, not that he really had anywhere to go to get out of the way “How was I supposed to know the door can’t be opened from the inside?”

“It was in the floor plans!”

“Which I let you handle, you know I never looked at those. I had other shit to do, like organising the contracts with publishers, setting up the banking side of the business, sourcing books and furniture for the bookshop. You agreed to oversee the CIA side of things”

“Which I did”

“Yet you didn’t think to say ‘oh by the way darlin’ the storage cupboard by the horror section is actually an emergency cell in case we get any trouble through the front door’” Zane just shook his head “Why did you even let me store stuff in here?”

“I didn’t know you had” 

Ty’s voice was starting to sound desperate. Zane knew his husband’s claustrophobia could be crippling at times, he was just thankful that the small room was mildly warm, clean and lined with wood. As far as Zane knew Ty’s previous near-death-by-small-spaces experiences involved wet, cold stone and probably mud, dust and sand. It was a shame there wasn’t a window but he supposed that would have compromised the security of the ‘emergency cell’. 

Maybe they’d have to look into installing a light. He was kind of surprised that Ty had signed off on the small cell that would effectively trap someone in total darkness in the first place. He knew of his husband’s past experience as a POW, it was an educated guess at first but then it had been confirmed and he’d been told details. He was sure he’d been spared from some of the more intense descriptions but what he’d heard had been enough. Maybe Ty deemed the cell necessary, especially if it was only supposed to be used as a temporary measure in an emergency. They’d have to have a talk about it, later, when they weren’t actively testing it out. 

Another thing he was thankful for was that they still had phone reception in the storage cell.

“Just try and relax doll” Zane reached out intending to put a comforting arm on Ty but decided against it, he didn’t want to overcrowd the other man. He was already struggling to appear smaller than his six foot five, well built frame actually was. It didn’t help that Ty also wasn’t a small man “Clancy’s coming over, she said she’d be twenty minutes tops”

“You called Clancy?” if anything Ty sounded even more put out “Thought you were calling Perrimore”

“He didn’t pick up” 

“We’re going to be rescued from our own cupboard by Clancy?, Oh God, she’ll be unbearable”

“Least it’ll give her something else to rub in my face” Zane shrugged, at this moment all he really wanted was to get Ty out of this cupboard, he didn’t care how much dignity and/or man points he lost in the process “She’s still pissed I shot her”

“Baby…”

“I know…” and he did, they both did. There was nothing more to say about those particular past events, nothing that would help this situation anyway. Silence surrounded them as Ty stopped pacing.

“Lone star?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t like this”

“I know you don’t doll, I know you don’t” this time he did reach out for his husband, managing to grab hold of Ty’s elbow “You’ll be alright, we’ll be out of here soon” Zane tried to reassure him gently squeezing his arm, he felt Ty lean into the touch, relaxing slightly.

The moment would have been sweet if the light hadn’t chosen that moment to die. The slight gap at the bottom of the door did absolutely nothing to alleviate the darkness.

“ZANE!”

Zane reached out for the phone. Pressing buttons in every combination he could think of once he’d located it. The phone remained dark.

“Battery’s dead” Zane ignored the huff Ty let out, he refused to take the blame for this new turn of events “It didn’t get a full charge last night, one of your demon cats chewed through my charger cable”

“They’re just babies, they don’t know any better” 

“They’re demons is what they are”

The mood in the room shifted, shifted in a way that made it obvious that Ty was starting to freak out, his breathing was getting louder and quicker. Zane needed to find a way to distract him before the freak out developed into a full blown panic attack.

“Don’t suppose you’ve started teaching the demons to open cell doors yet? actually scratch that, don’t teach them that. Last thing we’d need is for them to let someone out should we ever actually need to use this room...I’ll probably have to move the stock in here too”

“Zane...” Ty was gasping for breath now. Zane felt a hand hit his shoulder, reaching out he managed to grab hold of the flailing appendage “I can’t breathe!”

“Yes Ty” Zane told him firmly “Yes you can, it’s just your mind playing tricks on you okay?”

“I….I...ca…” Ty trailed off, sucking in air loudly.

Zane felt his heart breaking. He hated seeing Ty like this. He was almost convinced that his husband would work himself up into such a state one day that the strain on his heart would be too much. He couldn't lose him, not now and not like that. They’d both lived through so much, fought through pain and anguish to be together he refused to lose him now to a panic induced coronary. 

The only reason he’d survived his own cardiac arrest was due to Ty being too thick headed to let him die, performing CPR until medical attention arrived. Zane feared that he wouldn’t be able to return the favour. Just the thought of Ty stopping breathing was enough to paralyse him, he prayed to whomever happened to be listening that he’d never have to find out if he’d be able to hold it together long enough to give his husband a chance to live. 

“Ty, baby listen to me” Zane tried to speak softly, pushing his own fear down and letting his accent soothe the words “You have plenty of air in here and help is coming, you just need to calm down. Can you do that for me?”

Zane reached out to hold Ty’s face in both his hands, rubbing his thumbs over the light stubble along Ty’s jaw. Gently he pulled Ty closer so that they were facing each other in the dark. Ty had reached out to grab Zane’s upper arms. Zane could feel his nails digging into the fabric of his shirt. 

“Tyler?”

“I know...I know” Ty panted, his warm breath against Zane’s cheek “B-but I can’t” 

Ty was obviously struggling, fighting to get his breathing under control. He let his head drop, resting it against Zane’s shoulder. Zane moved to put one and on the back of Ty’s neck, stoking at the soft skin he found there for a moment before running his hand further down coming to rest against Ty’s back, between his shoulder blades. The other hand he used to press firmly against Ty’s heaving chest. Zane tried to ignore the feeling of Ty’s heart beating unnaturally fast under his palm, as he pressed down on Ty’s chest. Hoping the pressure of his hand would force Ty to slow his breaths down.

“C’mon baby, slow deep breaths” he could feel Ty fighting against him, struggling to breathe at the increased rate despite the extra pressure. If Ty didn’t get this under control soon he was going to pass out “Beaumont! you need to calm down”

“I’m trying to!”

“Oh to hell with it” Zane muttered. 

Bringing his hands back to Ty’s face he quickly covered Ty’s mouth with his own. Something in the back of Zane’s mind told him that this was probably a bad idea but right now it wasn’t offering up any alternatives so what was he supposed to do?. He needed to distract Ty and quickly.

The sudden kiss appeared to have the desired effect. Zane felt Ty go still underneath him, his panting breaths slowing to nothing as the shock wore off. After a moment Ty’s lips pressed forcefully against his own quickly followed by his tongue. As Ty deepened the kiss, licking and nibbling at Zane’s bottom lip before forcing his way past Zane’s lips. Zane was more than happy to let him. This was something they knew, something they’d done hundreds of times over the years and just this once Zane was happy to let Ty take control without putting up a fight. If his husband felt like he needed to control something in this craptastic situation who was he to get in the way. 

Zane wrapped his arms around Ty, pulling him flush against him. He couldn’t fail to note that although Ty’s chest was still heaving it wasn’t as bad as before. Ty appeared to be calming down, at least in the panic attack sense, if the hardness pressing against his thigh was anything to go by, he was getting worked up in other ways. 

“Zane?” Ty questioned breathlessly as he pulled away slightly, both hands tangled up in Zane’s curls 

“I’ve got you baby” Zane spoke softly, bending to kiss along one side of Ty’s neck. He could feel Ty’s shuddering breaths again “I asked you once to let me hold you in the dark” he tightened his hold slightly, enough to remind Ty he was there but not tight enough for Ty to feel restrained “Let me hold you, let me take care of you. The dark doesn’t have to be scary we can make our own memories out of it”

“You first told me you loved me in the dark”

Zane felt the smile cross Ty’s lips as his husband leaned in for another kiss, this one far less frantic than the previous one although they we’re both equally breathless when they parted

“I trust you Zane” Ty spoke, taking deep breaths “I trust you to hold me, protect me, love me. I also trust you not to bring this up again especially not in front of Clancy because if you do I won’t hesitate to kick your ass”

“You can try but-” Zane next words were cut off as Ty forced himself back onto him, devouring his mouth and claiming him as his own. 

“GRADY, I’M GOING TO HURT YOU WHEN I FIND YOU! YOUR LITTLE HELL BEASTS HAVE COVERED ME IN FUR. I’VE ONLY JUST WALKED THROUGH THE DAMN DOOR”

“Shuuush” Ty hissed, breaking the kiss and ducking his head under Zane’s chin “Maybe she’ll go away”

“She’s our only way out of here” Zane responded raising an eyebrow Ty wouldn't be able to see even if he wasn’t currently trying to bury himself against Zane 

“GRADY!”

“Suddenly the dark doesn’t seem like the scary option anymore”


End file.
